Category Sports News

Ahmedabad Indian Premier League Final

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 190-9 (20 overs): Kohli 43 (35), Arshdeep 3-40, Jamieson 3-48

Punjab Kings 184-7 (20 overs): Shashank 61* (30), Pandya 2-17

Bengaluru defeated Bengaluru by six runs to win.

With a six-run victory over Punjab Kings, Virat Kohli finally captured the Indian Premier League’s crown. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won by Bengaluru to claim their first title.

The 36-year-old India legend led RCB in scoring 43 from 20 overs in his team’s 190-9 victory over the only other team to play in each of the tournament.

Kings finished with 184-7, which was their first IPL title, despite also being hoping to win it.

Kohli remarked, “I never anticipated this day would come.” “I value this a lot. This team has given me every ounce of my energy. It’s amazing to finally win the IPL.

As the team’s numbers three to six posted scores in the mid-20s, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone hit 25 while Salt hit 16 from nine balls before being caught off Kyle Jamieson by Shreyas Iyer.

Andy Flower’s team struggled in the final over, with Arshdeep Singh taking three wickets in each of his final six balls to prevent RCB from passing 200.

In the 13th over of their reply, Kings lost captain Shreyas to one batter, caught by Jitesh Sharma off Romario Shepherd, to lose them 98-4.

Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh started rebuilding, but when Wadhera and Marcus Stoinis were caught together in three deliveries of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, their partnership was effectively over.

Shashank hammered 22 from Josh Hazlewood’s final four balls, bringing his team tantalisingly close with an unbeaten 61, after Josh Hazlewood needed 29 from the final over.

Kohli, who played his first IPL game for RCB in April 2008, has been waiting patiently.

He was then bowled for one at the age of 19, but he would later record 8, 661 runs, an average of 39.54, eight hundred and 63 half-centuries.

In addition to leading his team between 2013 and 2021, he also suffered defeat in his team’s three final appearances, losing to Deccan Chargers in 2009, Chennai Super Kings in 2011, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016.

Kohli later said, “This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team.”

“It’s been 18 years. I’ve spent my youth, my youth, and my experience with this team. Every season, I’ve made an effort to win, giving it everything.

As soon as the final ball was bowled, I was overcome with emotion.

Kohli has averaged over 50 in recent years, including 54.75 in this campaign, and has now won the IPL trophy after 267 matches.

After winning the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, he has recently won his most impressive accomplishment in the past 12 months.

Because of the fact that my heart and soul are with Bangalore, Kohli continued, “This is much more special than winning it with anyone else.” This is the team I’m going to play for until the final day of the IPL, as I previously stated.

Flower, who took over RCB for the competition’s 2024 edition, has also had success with the title.

The Ashes-winning former England coach placed second this year behind Kings on net run-rate, finishing fourth in his first year, losing in the elimination match.

After winning the first qualifier match, Flower’s team beat Kings to advance to the final, before resuming the process five days later.

It also follows 2021 victories for the Pakistan Super League and 2022 victories for Trent Rockets and Multan Sultans.

The winners’ medals will also be given to England internationals Salt, Livingstone, and Jacob Bethell.

After returning home for international duty, Bethell was playing for England in the third ODI against the West Indies at the time of the match, taking both Salt and Livingstone for catches in the final.

Bruno Fernandes, the captain of Manchester United, claims he turned down an enormous offer from Saudi Pro-League side Al-Hilal because he wants to keep playing “at the highest level.”

The 30-year-old considered a deal for which he would have earned more than twice as much at OId Trafford, where he is one of the highest earners, for the past few days.

However, Fernandes informed Al-Hilal he would not be joining them after talking about the situation with his family.

He claimed that Manchester United “said they didn’t want to sell me.” They said I could go if I wanted, but they didn’t need the money. I spoke with Ruben Amorim, a coach who was urging me to stay put all the way through.

With several Portuguese players currently living there, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Cancelo, and Ruben Neves, Fernandes claimed it was an “exciting offer” from Al-Hilal and that it would have been “easy” to relocate there.

He continued, “I want to play at the highest level possible.”

I want to compete in major tournaments. I’m aware of my current situation and long for happiness in my passions.

“This is how I view football, whether it’s for the better or the worse, and I’ve made the decision to play football,” I said.

The announcement, which followed boss Amorim’s prediction on Friday that Fernandes would stay, is understood to have delighted United.

United and Al-Hilal never received a bid they could turn down because there were no direct conversations between them.

However, it was anticipated that the Saudis would make an offer of between £80 and £100 million to bring him in time for the Fifa Club World Cup this month.

Al-Hilal’s future plans remain uncertain.

Since leaving Sporting for £47 million in January 2020, Fernandes has made 290 appearances and scored 98 goals for the club.

Gary Neville, the right-back for Manchester United, stated to Sky Sports that he believes the deal would not have been a bad one for the Old Trafford outfit. “He’s so important.

He will be more endearing to Manchester United fans because he wants to stay, and he wants to go through this and emerge the other side because it would have been simple for him to say, “Look, I’m done here,” at the end of the season.

I believe it speaks a lot about him as a person and as a character when Manchester United are at their lowest ebb and say, “No, I want to fight through this, I want to see it through the other side, I want to come out and achieve things.”

World Aquatics is the first international organization to forbid athletes, coaches, and officials from competing in the controversial Enhanced Games.

The first Enhanced Games will take place in Las Vegas from May 21 through May 24th, 2026, and the new event promotes banned performance-enhancing drugs.

Short-distance swimming, sprinting, and weightlifting will initially be the focus of the competition’s annual format.

Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev reportedly swam 20.89 seconds in a 50-meter freestyle time trial in the US last month, which is 0.02 seconds faster than the Brazilian Cesar Cielo’s world record set in 2009.

A new bylaw “that reinforces its steadfast commitment to clean sport” was introduced by World Aquatics.

Individuals who support, endorse, or compete in sporting events that use scientific advancements or other methods that may include prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods will not be eligible to hold positions with World Aquatics or take part in any World Aquatics competitions, events, or other activities as per the new bylaw.

This includes positions such as government representative, coach, team official, administrator, medical support staff, and athlete.

World Aquatics urged its member associations to “adopt similar policies at the national level to uphold consistent standards across the sport,” adding that the same principles apply to all competitions.

The World Anti-Doping Agency described the Enhanced Games as “a dangerous and irresponsible project” and criticized for putting the athletes’ health at risk and undermining fair play.

However, it has also attracted significant investment from billionaire Peter Thiel, the son of Donald Trump Jr., the US president’s son, and a venture capital fund led by him.

Husain al Musallam, president of World Aquatics, said, “Those who encourage doped sport are not welcome at our events.”

England’s third One Day International match against the West Indies at The Oval features a half-century from 34 balls as England aim for a target of 246.

Third One Day International: England v. West Indies

Indian Premier League, Final, Ahmedabad

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 190-9 (20 overs): Kohli 43 (35); Arshdeep 3-40, Jamieson 3-48

Punjab Kings 184-7 (20 overs): Shashank 61* (30); Pandya 2-17

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won by six runs

Virat Kohli finally won the Indian Premier League as Royal Challengers Bengaluru sealed their maiden title with a six-run win over Punjab Kings.

The 36-year-old India legend, the only player to represent the same franchise in every edition of the tournament, top-scored for RCB, hitting 43 in his side’s 190-9 from 20 overs.

Kings, who were also seeking a first IPL title, were unable to chase down their target, finishing on 184-7.

Salt struck 16 from nine balls before being caught by Shreyas Iyer off Kyle Jamieson, while England all-rounder Liam Livingstone hit 25 as the side’s numbers three to six all posted scores in the mid-20s.

Having accumulated steadily, Andy Flower’s team failed to accelerate in the final over, with Arshdeep Singh taking three wickets in his last six balls to ensure RCB didn’t pass 200.

Kings found themselves 98-4 in the 13th over of their reply, losing captain and star batter Shreyas for just one, caught by Jitesh Sharma off Romario Shepherd.

Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh began to rebuild, but their side’s challenge effectively ended when Wadhera and the big-hitting Marcus Stoinis were both caught in the space of three Bhuvneshwar Kumar deliveries.

Needing 29 from Josh Hazlewood’s final over, Shashank hammered 22 from the last four balls of the innings, bringing his side tantalisingly close to their target with an unbeaten 61.

It has been a long wait for Kohli, who played in the first IPL game for RCB in April 2008.

Then aged 19, he was bowled for one, but he would go on to hit 8,661 runs at an average of 39.54, with eight hundreds and 63 half-centuries.

He tasted defeat in his side’s three final appearances, losing to Deccan Chargers in 2009, Chennai Super Kings in 2011 and to Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016, while he also captained the franchise between 2013 and 2021.

Kohli has been in strong form in recent years, averaging over 50 in the past three seasons, including 54.75 in this campaign, and now gets to lift the IPL trophy after 267 matches in the competition.

The title also represents another success in the franchise coaching career of Flower, who took over RCB for the competition’s 2024 edition.

The Ashes-winning former England coach led RCB to fourth in his first season, losing in the eliminator match, before placing second this year, behind Kings on net run-rate.

His side then beat Kings in the first qualifier match to progress straight to the final, and have now repeated that feat.

It follows wins in the Pakistan Super League with Multan Sultans in 2021 and Trent Rockets in The Hundred in 2022.

Meanwhile England internationals Salt, Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell will also be awarded winners medals.

Both Salt and Livingstone took catches in the Kings innings, while Bethell was playing for England in the third ODI against the West Indies during the game, having returned home for international duty.